With a standard auto insurance policy, is the auto covered or driver ? if i loan my car out, is it covered ?

veritas

The owner of the auto and the policy is covered, along with listed drivers. Claims are made against people not cars.

If someone in the owner's household is going to drive the car they must be listed as a driver.

Claims can be brought against the driver also, even by the owner, and of course the owner's policy will not defend him.

Bob

The car is covered, but you have to specify operators who can drive your car. For example, some policies limit driving to only the registered driver. Your operator has to be covered under someone else's policy. If your operator gets into an accident, both your insurance and your operator's insurance will receive claims.

CowboyBill

Insurance policy follows the car. It will be covered unless the driver is excluded on the policy.

Misty B

In Washington State it depends on the policy; but in most cases it is the driver and the specific car insured. For example-my insurance covers me for the car that I insured and I also pay extra on my premium to be covered if I use someone else's car. The only person covered on my car is me. I cannot lend my car to someone else per my policy. My premium is less because I can guarantee that I will be the only person driving my car.

For most people in Washington state insurance is covered only for the car specified in your plan. If you want it to cover more cars you have to specifically add them to the policy. Or you can purchase a type of insurance that covers you no matter what car you drive. It is called "broadform" insurance and it is really expensive.

deadcars42

as long as you loan it out to someone who is not a member of your household (as they are supposed to be listed on the policy) you are covered

Lola76

Insurance covers the car, anyone can drive it.

ins_guru

auto insurance is following the auto. Say you drive your friends car and get into an accident. Then your friend's auto insurance will cover the claim. If there will be not enough limits to cover a claim, then your insurance will kick in and pay for the rest.

dulcrayon

Actually, both ar covered. You are covered in your car, and, usually, you are covered when you drive another car(as long as you are driving it legally(rented or borrowed))
Other drivers are covered when using your car, sometimes. It depends on how your policy is written. For example: On my policy other drivers are covered as long as they are over 25 yr. old.

There are lots of gray areas also. If you're driving(anything) drunk, you'll be covered, but chances are pretty good they'll drop you. Then insurance will cost you both arem and both legs, plus all your money.
If someone else is driving your car drunk, well, don't know, but a lot of factors would come into play and it's quite likely the insurance company would try to dodge claims if anyone was hurt in an accident.

Best advice. if loaning out your car to someone unstable(drugs/booze, racing, etc.) just assume that if anything happens, it comes outa your pocket. caus it just might.

oklatom

Yes, but...
If the driver is under 25, it becomes iffy.
It's up to you to make sure who ever is driving has a valid license, if they get stopped and don't, and your car gets impounded, guess who is the only one that can pick it up? Yes, the registered owner. If the friend driving is halfway honest, he will pay, but if he doesn't, and you want your car back, you will.

When you loan out the car, you are taking a very big chance. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to sob stories. "He was just going after a pack of cigarettes, he said he'd be right back" as they look at their wrecked or impounded vehicle in my holding yard.

maurcal

It depends. 'Most' insurance companies insure both. Meaning if somebody drives your car (as long as they are not excluded.) They will be covered with the same limits as if you were driving as long as they drive with your permission. Also, if you drive someone else's car, the car's insurance will be primary, and your insurance will be secondary. However, some insurers are more strict than others, some will not allow anybody not on the policy to drive. Insurance co's will usually try to find out who lives in your household and is old enough to drive so they can exclude them or add them to your policy. Sometimes, if somebody in your household drives regularly and they are in an accident, the insurance company might deny the claim because you did not let them know that they were in the household. If somebody outside of your household crashes your car, the ins co will cover the loss and ask that you exlclude the driver so they can no longer drive your car in the future.

Chris

Insurance follows the vehicle, not a person. So if you give permission to someone to drive the vehicle, and that person has an accident, it comes back to your policy. As long as the person has your permission, he is covered as an insured. He does not have to be listed. This could vary with companies or from state to state, but in general, that's how insurance works. If the person has your car for more than 30 days the insurance may not continue to cover it. If the person is more than an occasional driver then you will need to list the person on your policy.

If the person has an accident and is not listed, your company may inquire about the usage and put the person on the policy anyway if it's going to be regular usage.

Heinz M

The car is covered.

mbrcatz

"standard" varies from state to state, and company to company.

In most states in the US, you are insuring both the vehicle and the driver. Due to state laws, you're also probably insuring all the household members, so you're required to either list or exclude them from coverage. Some companies go so far as to say, if you don't list a household member, or someone who has regular access to the vehicle (at least 6 times a year) we won't cover them in the accident. That means, they won't cover your car, either.

Lesson: don't loan your car out. You could be on the hook for EVERYTHING, including making payments for the next five years on a car that's been totalled.

SusieDarling

The car is covered no matter who is driving, as long as you have both your car and other car covered. Some people just have insurance on the other car and not their own if the car isn't worth much.

Ell piña

If I hit a car and my mothers insurance says there are no other drivers in the household. Will her insurance still cover the guys car I hit.

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